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Has a US B-2 bomber gone missing during Iran nuclear airstrikes?
Has a US stealth bomber gone missing?
Much about the US' Iran bombings have been kept hush-hush.
The US had claimed that Operation Midnight Hammer was a success.
However, now there seems to be a cloud over the entire mission.
There are reports that one of the B-2 bombers that had set off on the mission has not returned.
But what happened? What do we know about the missing bomber?
Let's take a closer look
What happened?
The US on June 21 had deployed two groups of B-2 bombers.
According to reports, the bombers departed from Missouri's Whiteman Air Force Base.
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While one headed out West over the Pacific – a decoy to draw Iran's attention – the other comprising seven bombers headed East.
Their target? Iran's nuclear facilities at Fordow and Natanz.
These were accompanied by a veritable fleet of refueling tankers and fighter jets — some of which launched their own weapons.
The bombers are said to have dropped 14 GBU-57 Massive Ordnance Penetrator (MOP) bunker-buster bombs on Iran's enrichment facilities.
A satellite view shows an overview of Fordow underground complex, after the US struck the underground nuclear facility, near Qom, Iran. Maxar Technologies/Reuters
They safely returned to the Whiteman Air Force Base after a 37-hour round-trip.
However, it is the whereabouts of the bombers from the decoy team that remain uncertain.
Specifically one aircraft.
What do we know about the missing bomber?
There are reports that at least one bomber from this decoy team was forced to make an emergency landing.
It is thought to have landed at the Daniel K Inouye International Airport in Honolulu.
This airport shares a runway with Hawai's Hickam Air Force base.
The stealth bomber, using the callsign MYTEE, is said to have had an undisclosed emergency mid-flight and was diverted for safety reasons.
The bomber has since been grounded at the airport.
A video of the bomber has gone viral on social media.
It was put up by ex-US Air Force pilot David Martin.
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The US Air Force has thus far refused to confirm details of the incident.
It has also not provided a possible timeline for any repairs being undertaken on the craft.
A B-2 Spirit dropping Mk.82 bombs. File image: Wikimedia Commons
This is far from the first time a B-2 bomber has suffered problems.
A similar incident occurred in April 2023, resulting in the craft being diverted to Hawaii.
That plane remained in Hawaii for weeks before it was given the green light to fly.
In 2022, America's entire B-2 fleet was grounded after a craft went down in Missouri.
In 2021, a B-2 had to be taken to to Northrop Grumman's facility in Palmdale, California for repairs after a similar incident.
However, the most serious incident occurred in 2008.
Back then, the B-2 nicknamed the 'Spirit of Kansas' went down shortly take-off from Guam's Andersen Air Force Base.
Though the B-2 was wrecked, the crew escaped with their lives.
What we know about the B-2 stealth bomber
The B-2 bomber is a state-of-the-art stealth aircraft and a symbol of the US' firepower.
It is the world's most expensive craft, which each unit costing approximately $2 billion.
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The US currently has just 19 such B-2 bombers in service.
Dubbed Operation Midnight Hammer, the mission carried out a 'precision strike' that 'devastated the Iranian nuclear program,' US officials said, even as they acknowledged an assessment was ongoing.
For its part, Iran denied that any significant damage had been done, and the Islamic Republic pledged to retaliate.
With inputs from agencies
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